First day on Med/surg clinical

smf0903 · Feb 7, 2014

Good luck! Your patient will only know your fear(s) if you allow them to see it :) Walk in and introduce yourself, ask how they are, ask if they need anything. Five minutes at the beginning of your clinical day spent saying hi to your patient (and their family if they are there) will ease your mind and also will help establish a bit of rapport with your patient. If you work with people you already know how to do that I think the hardest part is that first patient! You think about it, stress about it, and work yourself up...and almost always for nothing! If something comes up, remember you are not there alone. If you have a procedure to do and think you won't remember, take a minute in the med room or break room and go over it quickly in your head. Just always remember that you're not there alone...and treat the patient like a family member and you'll do great Have fun and I hope it's a great experience for you!!

b33ni · Feb 7, 2014

I understand how you feel! But really, just treat the patient like you would treat your own family member, and it'll be fine. That's what I did, and it just made my communication with the patient so much easier and smoother. Everyone wants to be confident, but it's just fact that you will make mistakes and there will be things that you don't know. As long as you are an eager student who shows that you're willing to learn, your teachers and staff aren't going to look badly on you!

Take it from me, a fellow nursing student! :up:

chacha82, ADN, BSN · Feb 8, 2014

It depends on your assignment, but I would make sure to check in with your nurse and CNA and then hit the ground running. Make sure you follow through on everything; for example, if the patient has a question for the nurse, get the request to your nurse or CNA. If they can't have something right away, provide a solution. Don't stand there and twiddle your thumbs. Hospitals are BUSY. If you can, chart your work right after you do it, get out of the room and give them some quiet time, check in with your instructor or CNA and see how you can help. After I finish my own assigned patient for an hourly round, I always see what my CNA needs help with (AM care, vitals, little errands). You will learn more if you seek things out. Don't saunter over to your instructor and say "Are we doing anything right now?" The answer is always YES. :smug: You will do great! Do not worry about mistakes as long as they're not hurting the patient, it happens, it's OK. I have tripped over extra tubing and gone flying, not to mention all of the silly booboos I made at my actual job. Once I had the steth in my ears and yelled out vitals, not realizing how loud my voice was. Everyone thought I was nuts or just really into it!

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · Feb 9, 2014

"Hi my name is Dressagern. I'm a nursing student from XYZ university and I will be working with your nurse "Sheila" today until "3 pm". How are you feeling this morning Mr/Ms Smith?"

Then you can go on to explain what your responsibilities will be.

Really the most important thing as a student is to know what you don't know and don't be afraid to say "I'm not sure, but let me find out for you."